LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

— __ 

Chap. __. Copyright No. 

SheltJjXJb. 



UiNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



A LAYMAN'S LENT. 

AN ARGUMENT FOR ITS OBSERVANCE FROM 

AN HISTORICAL, SCRIPTURAL, AND 

PRACTICAL STANDPOINT, 

by ^r 

Archibald Campbell Knowles, 

AUTHOR OF 

"The Belief and Worship of the Anglican Church," "On Wings 
of Fancy" etc., etc. 



WITH A COMMENDATORY PREFACE 

BY THE 

Rt. Rev. Isaac Lea Nicholson, S. T. D., 

BISHOP OF MILWAUKEE. 



PHILADELPHIA 3 r m> I 

GEORGE W. JACOBS & CO., I 1 *b * 

103 South 15th Street. 
1897. 






Copyright, 1897, by 
Archibald Campbell Knowles. 



COMMENDATORY. 



T N one of his very notable sermons on the spiritual 
life, the great Lacordaire tells us that whatever in 
the way of human endeavor tends to lift up the soul 
to God, and draw the mind more intently toward 
Him is generally to be commended ; and whatever acts 
the contrary way, whatever draws us from Him, or 
the thought of Him, be it occupation or pleasure or 
book, is always to be condemned. 

If this witness of so great a master be true (and 
we think it is most true), then the tendency of this 
little devotional book, written by our dear and per- 
sonal friend, is to be strongly commended \ not 
merely for its own merits, but chiefly because it is 
his humble effort, put together in his own way, and 
after his own experience, to draw the souls of his 

3 



A Layman's Lent. 

fellow-men more closely to God, and more devotedly 
attach them to the loving Person of our Lord and 
Master, Jesus Christ. 

Surely, all such books are to be particularly com- 
mended, in this day of a widespread humanita- 
rianism, and a so-called altruism, which is only 
humanitarian and nothing beyond ; and which asks 
so confidently to be accepted as a substitute for the 
old-time Christianity of the Bible, the Prayer Book, 
and the unbroken ages of the past. Even our clergy 
need to realize more deeply the dangers in that wide 
gap far too often seen between the influence of their 
daily lives, and the Divine Person of Jesus Christ. 
And, with all the strong helps we have, in our high 
and holy calling of the ministry, if this daily prac- 
tice of a warm personal piety is a difficult thing to 
us : what pity shall we not feel for our lay brethren, 
these busy workmen out in the world, wrecked and 
tossed, and each day well-nigh submerged as they 
are, amidst the greater distractions of their daily 

4 



Commendatory. 



lives, if they find it almost an impossibility, as so 
often they plaintively tell us, to live this "life hid 
with Christ in God;" which is indeed the only true, 
and real, and lasting Christian life at all ? 

" O for a closer walk with God, 
A calm and heavenly frame : 
A light to shine upon the road, 
That leads me to the Lamb." 

We confidently ask, then, a blessing from God 
upon this aid to a layman's Lent, and commend 
the head, the hands, and the heart of the writer, as 
also of the reader, to His protecting grace. 

f Isaac Lea Nicholson, 
Bishop of Milwaukee. 
Milwaukee : 

Feast of the Epiphany, 1897. 



PREFACE. 



TN presenting to the public this his work on the 
Lenten Fast, the Author would fain hope that he 
is contributing to a real need in the spiritual life of 
the day. While many an one has kept this solemn 
season and has experienced the holy joy and lasting 
good that have come from it, perhaps far more have 
turned away, ignorant alike of the clear historical 
warrant for its observance, and of the many benefits 
therein to be found. 

It has been the Author's aim, therefore, to show 
the authority of history and Scripture for such ob- 
servance, to give a logical exposition of the reasons 
why the keeping of it becomes a bounden duty, and 
to suggest how its many privileges may best be used 
in order to obtain the greatest spiritual good and 
benefit from them. 

7 



A Layman's Lent. 



In the trust that this little work may commend 
itself to all, but especially to those who have never 
to the fullest extent sought the blessings of Lent, or 
who have doubted the expediency of such observ- 
ance, and with the hope and prayer that the writer 
as well as the reader may benefit by whatsoever may 
herein be found helpful, the Author submits for the 
consideration of all this his labour of love for Christ : 
A Layman's Lent. 

" SUNNYSIDE," 

Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, 

Feast of the Nativity, 1896. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

I.— The Mystery of Life— The Call of Lent, II 

II. — Historical Warrant for the Observance of Lent, . . 22 

III. — Scriptural Reasons for the Observance of Lent, . . 36 

IV. — Objections to the Observance of Lent Answered, . . 50 

V.— The Spiritual Life, . 68 

(Prayer, Meditation, Reading, Holy Communion.) 

VI. — The Life of Sacrifice, 100 

VII.— The Call of the Crucified, 122 

Appendix, 131 



THE MYSTERY OF LIFE THE CALL OF LENT. 

To every thoughtful man there comes a 
time when he is brought face to face, as 
it were, with the strange Mystery of Life, 
when the solemnity of it all dawns upon 
him. About him he sees the prosperity of 
the rich and the poverty of the poor, the 
sorrows and trials of the one, the joys and 
pleasures of the other. Here the good 
and innocent are almost crushed under 
some terrible blow, or struggle along 
under burdens almost too heavy to bear. 
There the wicked and careless escape un- 
scathed, or go from pleasure to pleasure 
with scarcely a cloud in their horizon. 



A Layman's Lent. 



One wretched creature with scarcely a 
murmur tosses on the bed of fever; an- 
other dies for the barest necessaries of 
life ; a third in the lap of luxury, cared for 
by loving relatives and watchful nurses, 
complains at every pain and ache — all 
forming the Mystery of Life, inexplicable, 
unfathomable, unless viewed in the light of 
Faith, in the realization that in all the 
strange and varying vicissitudes of our ex- 
istence is the hand of God, Who, the Cre- 
ator and Ruler of all things, knoweth best 
what is for our good. 

Any other explanation, to a truly 
thoughtful man, would render life a burden 
too great to bear. If trials and troubles, 
sickness and death come but through the 
caprice of an arbitrary God, or through 
certain inexorable laws of nature, sooner 
than bear them, if such was his lot, sooner 



The Call of Lent. 



than anticipate them if such his expecta- 
tion, man would prefer by his own hand to 
end his existence here and pass to noth- 
ingness, for simple cessation of being will- 
ingly exchanging such a life of misery. 

But, thank God, owing to His Divinely 
Appointed Church, and His Divinely In- 
spired Scriptures, we see one great source 
of comfort in this Mystery of Life : in the 
realization that each one of us is placed 
here for some special purpose or work, all 
the varied experiences of life, whether of 
trial or trouble, joy or pleasure being sent 
to us as so many aids and helps to the 
furtherance of this object, 

In brief, as the Bible tells us, our life is 
but a sojourning here, as of pilgrims in a 
foreign land. Created primarily for the 
glory of God, we are granted opportunities 
and endowed with capabilities, if we will so 

n 



A Layman's Lent. 



use them as to enable us to attain to the 
blessed life above, each trial, each disap- 
pointment being sent as so much school- 
ing for the accomplishing of that end. 

Man then is strictly accountable to 
Almighty God for the proper use and exer- 
cise of his opportunities and talents. His 
responsibility consequently is great. Not 
only must he earnestly try to ascertain 
" what the will of the Lord is" and his life, 
11 what will he do with it," but he must also 
seek every means to work out that end 
when he finds his vocation. His desire 
and prayer should ever be to do not that 
which he wishes, but that which God wishes, 
not that which he most likes, but that for 
which he is best fitted, and it is only in 
doing this that man gains true happiness 
in this world, accomplishes a life work, be 
it in ever so humble a sphere, that leaves 

14 



The Call of Lent. 



its impress on the world, and makes him 
to some extent at least unravel the threads 
of the Mystery of Life. 

To such persons, then—and we speak 
to all who sincerely desire to do what is 
right — each recurring year brings at its ap- 
pointed time the solemn season of Lent 
Again do we stand on the threshold, to 
answer to the question " Wilt thou keep 
Lent?" Again on our decision may de« 
pend the issues of spiritual life or death. 
If it be " Yes " it will open before us wider 
and richer opportunities for the religious 
life, for closer companionship with Almighty 
God, and will give us added light for our 
journey along the pathway of our existence 
and a glimpse into the Mystery of Life/ If 
the answer be " No " it will mean the fall- 
ing away from higher things, the " things 
pertaining to God," the lapsing into worldli- 



A Layman s Lent. 



ness and selfishness, if not idle pleasure 
and sin. 

Truly it is the old fight between worldly 
self-interest and spiritual self-interest, the 
higher nature and the lower nature. Again 
must we stand before the tribunal of our 
conscience, and answer to the question put 
in the days long past: "Christ or Diana." 

" Watch and pray" is the battle cry of 
Lent, and down the shadowy vistas of the 
centuries comes the sweet, loving, beseech- 
ing voice of the dear Redeemer: "Can ye 
not watch with Me ? u 

To one man, the question comes plainly 
and clearly. He cannot evade it, for he 
knows its meaning and inwardly he is 
harried by the rival cries " This I should 
do " (observe the prayerful season of 
Lent), "This I desire to do" (enjoy the 
pleasures of the world). To another man 

t6 



The Call of Lent. 



the question comes, coupled with an affir- 
mative answer it is true, but clouded with 
fancied doubts and difficulties, both as to 
how much he should do, and as to how 
much physical, moral, and spiritual strength 
he has with which to do it While to a 
third man, the question either comes not 
at all, or is immediately silenced, for his 
conscience, long since seared and scarred 
with many wounds, has been relegated to a 
dark corner of his being, where it can trouble 
him no more, unless it comes occasionally to 
haunt him like the shade of a murdered soul, 
disturbing his self-complacency, as pointing 
a trembling finger at the good examples of 
Lenten self-denial about him, it forces the 
thought to intrude itself on his darkened 
mind " Ought not I too to do this?" 

As then, generally speaking, the call of 
Lent comes in this way to three classes of 

17 



A Layman s Lent. 



people (for we eliminate from our argu- 
ment all of those, who are so holy minded, 
as to need no urging to take up their Cross 
for Jesus), so, too, generally speaking, 
there are but three classes of people who 
militate against the following of this call 
for the observance of Lent 

First, we may mention, those who by 
their strange vagaries, lack of common 
sense, and want of consistency, bring dis- 
honour and ridicule upon their cause and 
themselves. Secondly, those who, though 
good and upright, have never developed 
the devotional side of their nature, and so, 
never observing Lent themselves, feel it to 
be their bounden duty to place difficulties 
in the path of all who so desire, trying to 
" shame " them into seeing "how foolish/' 
" how silly " (as they are pleased to call it !) 
such observance is. 



The Call of Lent. 



Thirdly, there are those who, embittered 
against faith and religion in general and 
self-sacrifice and holy living in particular, 
which shames them in their own lives, do 
not hesitate to bring all the scorn and ridi- 
cule of the world to bear upon those try- 
ing to keep Lent, openly laughing at these, 
and speaking of their acts of devotion or 
penitence as " nonsense/' With most 
specious arguments they ask such ques- 
tions as "What do you gain ?", " What is 
the use?", "God cares nothing for such 
things !", " Lent never makes A any bet- 
ter !", thus in their own spiritual blindness 
not only daring to value the aspiration of 
the Soul after God, but even presuming to 
voice God's opinion of such sacrifices and 
to condemn their brother-man ! 

Perhaps some think this does not seem 
very strong opposition. Many, however, 

*9 



A Layman's Lent. 



who have borne the brunt of the battle can 
well testify to the strength and power of 
the forces of " the world, the flesh, and the 
devil," veiled, as they may be, in specious 
argument and polite phraseology, yet 
nevertheless a power and a strength that 
has sore wounded many a godly one who 
has struggled on, though maimed and dis- 
heartened, while, alas ! it has driven from 
the field many another who, relying on 
himself instead of God, has been worsted 
in the conflict 

Lent then is upon us. The answer has to 
be made. It may be the crucial moment of 
our lives. Let us then consider the question 
and answer it as before God, in- Whose 
Presence all that we do in this world is 
done, remembering that in our decision we 
must stand or fall before our Maker. 

Then, as we answer " Yes.,, by God's 



The Call of Lent. 



help we will keep Lent "— - and this is the 
only answer a sincere Christian and a de- 
vout lover of Christ can make— let us pre- 
pare for the battle with the armies of 
worldliness on every side. Let us equip 
ourselves in the knowledge of the reasons 
why we should keep Lent. Let us be 
ready to answer the Devil's objections, 
telling us why we should not keep it. 

Then with undaunted courage, deter- 
mination, and earnestness let us try so to 
observe this solemn season that we may 
be like those mentioned by the Psalmist : 
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in 
Thee ; in whose heart are Thy ways. Who 
going through this vale of misery use it for 
a well ; and the pools are filled with ivater. 
They will go from strength to strength : 
and unto the God of gods appear eth every 
one of them in Sion. u 



II. 



HISTORICAL WARRANT FOR THE OBSERVANCE 
OF LENT. 

The history of the observance of Lent 
can be traced back to the beginning of the 
Christian Era, when we find it mentioned 
in the writings of the Fathers, Irenaeus 
and Tertullian. In those early days, while 
there seems to have been some slight dif- 
ference in the various Church centres as to 
the length of the Fast, the solemn season, 
whatever its duration, was rigidly and 
universally kept. 

Then, as now, this Fast was observed 
as a retreat from the world, preparatory 
to the joyful festival of Easter. As this 



Historical Authority. 



feast was celebrated with a pomp and 
splendour far exceeding anything to be 
witnessed in the present age, the natural 
inference is that the fast of Lent was cor- 
respondingly observed with every show of 
penitence, of sorrow for sin, and of prepa- 
ration for a better life. 

As in the case of most feasts and fasts, 
the title of this solemn period has also 
varied, but for many centuries past it has 
been called Lent by English-speaking na- 
tions, this name coming directly from the 
countries of Northwestern Europe, where 
we find the Anglo-Saxons designating the 
holy season as Lencten, the Germans Lenz, 
and the Dutch Lente, words meaning the 
spring fast, 

While the early records show a lack of 
uniformity as to the length of the Fast, the 
differences, as we have said, were slight, 

23 



A Layman's Lent. 



the periods observed generally only vary- 
ing between six and seven weeks. There 
are, however, a few instances of a shorter 
observance of only a few days, and in one 
case of but one day, this probably being 
Holy Cross Day or Good Friday as we 
know it. This variation is no more re- 
markable, however, than that of the Kalen- 
dar, time being computed then as now in 
a different way by different nations, for the 
organization of the Church in the days of 
persecution and in the times immediately 
succeeding" them could not have been as 
perfect, nor her observances and customs 
as uniform as in that period when the 
Church spread over the whole of Europe 
and impressed with her majesty and power 
even the secular world. 

In the time of Gregory the Great, the 
Bishop of Rome (from 590 to 604 A. D.) 

24 



Historical Authority, 



conformity to a certain fixed period had 
been brought about Then we find both 
the Western and Eastern Churches ob- 
serving a season of six weeks, less of course 
the six Sundays (invariably celebrated as 
festivals,) thus leaving thirty-six days for 
the Fast. ^ 

To whom is due the next great change, 
definitely settling the time to forty days — 
exclusive of Sundays— and so placing the 
beginning of the Fast at the day we call 
Ash Wednesday, is not positively known. 
By some, this has been attributed to Greg- 
ory the Great, but there is no reliable 
authority for thinking that he was the 
originator of the change. 

Many think the addition of these four 
days* making the actual time of fasting 
forty days, was made in the tenth century, 
as it was not until the end of the eleventh 



A Layman's Lent. 



century that the addition was recognized 
by the Church of Scotland. 

The selection of this even number of 
forty days for the length of the Fast finds 
its authority in the examples given us (i) 
in the Old Testament record of the forty 
days' fasts of Moses and Elijah ; (2) in 
the New Testament record of the forty 
days' sojourn in the wilderness of our 
Blessed Lord, 

This has always been considered by the 
Church not only as sufficient warrant for 
appointing such a fast, but also as making 
it incumbent upon all to observe its com- 
mands. 

In the earliest days the penitent was 
wont to clothe himself in sackcloth, being 
crossed with the sacred ashes, symbolical 
of the death of earthly joy s and remaining 
in seclusion until Maundy Thursday. At 



Historical Authority. 



that time he was again reconciled to the 
Church and granted absolution for his sin. 
We believe this custom is now obsolete. 

Among those of the Anglican and 
Roman Churches of to-day Lent is ob- 
served in much the same manner, with 
frequent services and special devotions. 
In the latter body, however, there are still 
in vogue a number of ancient customs 
long since abandoned by the Anglican 
Communion, either for lack of sufficient 
authority to commend them, or because 
they savoured somewhat of superstition. 

Ash Wednesday, since its appointment 
as the beginning of the solemn season, has 
been observed with every mark of mourn- 
ing for sin. 

It is a strict fast, and is supposed to be 
rigidly kept by all who are able to do so. 
The Roman Church still blesses with ashes 

$1 



A Layman's Lent. 



on this day, and reminds each one that he 
is but dust. 

In the Greek Church the three Sundays 
of Quinquagesima, Sexagesima, and Sep- 
tuagesima, which we reckon as before 
Lent, are called the Sundays of the Pro- 
digal, from the Gospel for the day. The 
Greek Church, unlike Western Christen- 
dom, begins Lent with the day after Quin- 
quagesima. 

As we draw near the close of Lent, the 
solemnity of the season increases. The 
second Sunday before Easter is called 
Passion Sunday, and is observed with much 
ceremony, the Cross, Crucifix, Candlesticks, 
and Altar Ornaments being veiled in purple 
silk. Passion week following this, brings us 
to the first Sunday before Easter, called 
Palm Sunday, when processions with palms 
are made about the Church, commemorate 

38 



Historical Authority, 



ing Christ's entrance into Jerusalem, amid 
the shouts of " Hosanna " and the strewing 
of palm branches. This " Feast of Palms " 
as it is also called, was celebrated as early 
as the fifth century, though the custom 
of processions with palms seems to have 
been of later date. Now such processions 
are very general, being followed in many 
portions of the Church by a distribution 
of the blessed palm. The week following 
is called Holy Week, In it comes the 
solemn days of Maundy Thursday and 
Good Friday. 

/Maundy Thursday is truly a great day 
of Lent, and carries with it, not only the 
one central thought of the institution 
of the Blessed Sacrament, but also many 
customs and associations of ancient times, 
It has borne many names, the one we 
now retain coming from the Latin words, 

2 9 



A Layman *s Lent, 



"'Dies mandati" (the day of the Great 
Commandment). Among other ancient 
titles was that of " the Day of Foot- 
washing," in honour of Christ's cleans- 
ing of the Apostles' feet, an example even 
now followed by the Bishop of Rome, who 
with an elaborate ceremonial, far different 
from the simplicity shown by our Blessed 
Lord, washes on this day the feet of twelve 
beggars. 

In ancient times there were four promi- 
nent features of Maundy Thursday, though 
they were customs only to be found in 
some parts of the Church: (i) the cate- 
chizing of the Catechumens, or those de- 
siring Baptism ; (2) the reconciliation of 
Penitents, who, assembling on the outside 
of the church, listened to a sermon from 
the Bishop, and upon entering the sacred 
building and hearing the Mass for the 

30 



Historical Authority 



Reconciliation of Penitents were pub- 
licly absolved from their sins ; (3) the 
Consecration of the Chrism, or the sacred 
oil long used— and still used in the Greek 
Church— for the anointing of the con- 
firmed, the sick and the newly baptized ; 
(4) the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, 
on this day regarded as especially solemn 
as being offered on the day commemorat- 
ing its institution. 

Some other curious customs were: the 
enforced silence of all church bells, the 
stripping of the Altars after Vespers, and 
the cessation of chanting. 

Another great day of Lent is Good Fri- 
day ; indeed it is undoubtedly the most 
solemn time of the whole Church Year, 
It has been strictly observed since the 
earliest times, and in some cases, for those 
who could endure it, the fast was enjoined 



A Layman s Lent, 



until midnight of Easter Even, the day 
following. At one time not only food, but 
bathing was forbidden. Soon the day 
came to be observed with the solemnity 
and ritual now in vogue among almost 
all branches of the Catholic Church. 

Among other old customs was the ex- 
tinguishing of the candles on the Altar, 
these being with great solemnity put out 
one by one. Sometimes a Cross was 
erected before the Choir, but this was 
abandoned, as it probably led to such 
superstitious practices as " Creeping to the 
Cross/' and u Adoration of the Cross." 
The Crosses on the Altar and on the Rood 
Screen were considered sufficient to re- 
mind one— if any reminder was necessary 
— of the great Sacrifice of the Day, the 
Crucifixion on Calvary. The Holy Com- 
munion, being the greatest act of joyful 



Historical Authority. 



worship of the Christian Church, was not 
celebrated, but in some branches of the 
Church, as in the Roman Communion to- 
day, the desire to partake of the Blessed 
Sacrament was so great that it was per- 
mitted to be reserved on Maundy Thurs- 
day, and under the name of " the Mass of 
the Presanctified " was administered on 
Good Friday.* 

The present custom of the Anglican 
Communion, of singing what are called 
the "Reproaches" and preaching a series 
of Meditations on the Seven Words ot 
the Cross, the latter interspersed with 
hymns and prayers, seems most conducive 
to the devotion suitable for such a solemn 
time, and most fitting as a service of Com* 

* This is not to be taken as inferring that Reservation for the 
purpose of administering to the sick is not right at all times, 
although Reservation for Adoration only may be questioned, 

33 



A Layman's Lent. 



memoration of the Sacrifice of Christ on 
the Cross, there crucified for the sins of the 
whole world. 

Thus then, in the observance of the 
early days of the Christian Era, and in the 
universal custom of the Church ever since, 
we have the strongest warrant for the 
keeping of Lent in the present day, hav- 
ing an argument from history and an argu- 
ment from religion, for as in her records 
the Church as an Institution shows the 
facts of her universal practice, so by this 
universal practice, the Church as a teacher 
shows us what must be accepted as right, 
for being the repository and interpreter 
of Chrises Holy Religion, this Catholic 
Church, His Mystical Body, cannot, when 
she acts as a whole, teach or practice what 
is wrong. 

Fortified then, with this authority of hb- 
34 



Historical Authority. 



tory, and armed with the endorsement of 
the Church, let us keep this time of Lent 
as did the Christians of old 3 as a solemn 
period of preparation for the bright and 
glorious Festival of Easter, commemorat- 
ing our dear Lord's Resurrection, as Lent 
commemorates His Fast and Crucifixion. 
And that we may persuade others to a like 
holy observance, let us in the following 
pages consider for a moment this wonder- 
ful Mystery of Life, and what it means, 
and see how the teaching 1 of Lent in 
a measure serves to explain that which 
otherwise seems inexplicable, at the same 
time enquiring into the religious reasons 
for, and answering the worldly objections 
to. the observance of this solemn season. 



35 



III. 



SCRIPTURAL REASONS FOR THE OBSERVANCE 
OF LENT. 

Having investigated the historical war- 
rant for the observance of Lent, having 
thought for a moment upon the Mystery 
of Life, having considered the possibility of 
the teachings of this solemn season in 
some measure interpreting that which had 
seemed unfathomable in this life, we now 
come to examine into a few of the main 
reasons for the keeping of this holy fast, 
starting with the greatest of all Scriptural 
arguments, the example of our Blessed 
Lord Himself 

It seems a misfortune to many, though 

i* 



Scriptural Authority. 



it should be a privilege to all, that we so 
often have to give an explanation of much 
that we do, and much that we believe to in- 
quirers after truth or scorners of religion ; 
to take the part, as it were, of the writers 
of the dark ages of unbelief, and act as 
Christian Apologists, Most important 
then is it that we ourselves are thoroughly 
schooled in the reasons for belief in those 
things which we defend, so as to have a 
reply for all cavillers. 

As, however, the observance of Lent is 
not only a great help to those who keep it, 
but also a great reproof to those who do 
not, let us ever remember at the outset 
that the strongest answers to all scoffers, 
unbelievers, and lukewarm Christians are 
these : 

(i) — that our Blessed Lord, Whose life 
we are to copy, set us the example 
37 



A Layman's Lent. 



of fasting forty days and forty 
nights in the wilderness ; 
(2) — that He Himself said of sins that 
" This kind goeth not out but by 
prayer and fasting ;" 
(3) — that our self-sacrifice, devotion, and 
earnestness show the depth of our 
love for and belief in Him, and 
give an example of works done 
for Christ, not for earthly glory or 
worldly gain. 
Perhaps this last may do more to con- 
vince the worldly-minded that we are in 
earnest, and have a real love for a personal 
Saviour than many a sermon from a pulpit, 
many a book from a pen. 

To enter briefly upon the main reasons 
for keeping Lent — a few of which reasons 
we hope to treat of more fully in a subse- 
quent chapter— we find that they can be 

38 



Scriptural Authority. 



separated into topic heads and can be en- 
larged upon as follows: 

I. Because Christ set us the example. 

Here in the sojourn of Christ in the 
wilderness, we have the comfort of know- 
ing that He, in His perfect Humanity, was 
tempted in all things the same as we are, 
yet without sin, This was necessary in 
the fulfilling of our Blessed Lord's ap- 
pointed work, to show all mankind the 
possibility of resisting temptation and the 
way in which to overcome it 

In this sojourn in the wilderness, Christ 
touched no food whatever, but was as the 
sacred words tell us " an hungered!' At 
this juncture the Devil comes, thinking in 
the moment of physical weakness to con- 
quer the Prince of Peace. First, he points 
out stones and asks Christ to make them 

39 



A Layman s Lent* 



bread; then he takes Him up to a pin- 
nacle of the Temple, and asks Christ to 
cast Himself down, saying that God will in- 
terfere with His Angels ; and lastly, taking 
Him to an " exceeding high mountain/' he 
shows him all of the kingdoms of the world 
and the glory of them, and offers the sov- 
ereignty to Christ if He mall worship him, 
the Devil Herein we see the three great 
temptations that come to all of us, in vari- 
ous ways : those of the body, the mind, and 
the spirit 

Our Blessed Lord, being both God and 
man, could have stopped the Devil at once, 
but this temptation was part of the sacri- 
fice He made for us, for herein He shows 
us the Sinless One, in His humanity beat- 
ing back and completely conquering the 
Devil, the Prince of Darkness. 

In the first proposition, "If thou he the 
40 



Scriptural Authority, 



Son of God, command that these stones be 
made bread" we have the Devil's tempta- 
tion to the body, appealing to hunger; in 
the second, "If thou be the Son of God, 
cast Thyself down ; for it is written, He 
shall give His Angels charge concerning 
Thee ; and in their hands they shall bear 
Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy 
foot against a stone," we have the Devil's 
temptation to the mind, to pride or vanity, 
for Christ could here have shown an in- 
stance of His Power; in the third, "All 
these things will I give Thee, if Thou fall 
down and worship me" we have the Devil's 
temptation to the spirit, to give up truth 
and religion for sovereignty. 

And as in these temptations of Christ, 
we see the ways in which the Devil can 
tempt us too, so in Christ's answers, we 
see the means with which successfully to 



A Layman s s Lent. 



resist, for as Christ quoted the Old Scrip- 
tures * against the Devil, so we must think 
of Christ's words to use in our tempta- 
tions. So, too, as Ministering Angels vis- 
ited our Blessed Lord, after His tempta- 
tion, we will be cared for by Him if we 
closely follow His beautiful life. 

It is then in the example of Christ that 
we find our first Scriptural argument for 
observing Lent, It is not to be supposed 
that there is no meaning in this wondrous 
example. Surely it is for us to copy in 
some special way, at some special time. 
This time and this way have been ap- 
pointed by the Church in her commands 
for the season we call Lent. 

Therefore since the Church both gave 
us the Holy Scriptures and commands all 

*Our Blessed Lord's answers are found respectively in 
Deuteronomy vi, 16 ; viii, 3 ; x, 20. 

42 



Scriptural Authority. 



to observe the solemn fast of forty days 
and forty nights in the wilderness related 
therein, it follows that Christ in His sojourn 
there meant it to be an example for us to 
follow in the way of special devotion and 
sacrifice, ordained by the Church. In these 
special ordinances for Lent we are in some 
degree to withdraw ourselves from the 
busy world about us, which retreat gives 
our second reason for keeping this holy 
fast: 

II. Because the time thus taken from 
labour or pleasure gives us the opportunity 
for (i) special prayer, (2) meditation, (3) 
reading, and (4) Holy Communion. 

Here then is our great chance of de- 
veloping the spiritual life* of drawing 

* The spiritual life is treated of more at length in a subse- 
quent chapter. 

43 



A Layman's Lent. 



closer to God, of discovering our sins, of 
learning how to correct them. How 
precious should such a privilege be ! How 
lovingly should we long to draw near to 
the Blessed Saviour's side ! Here in these 
spiritual exercises we find the grace that 
enables us to fast and deny ourselves, 
which gives us the third reason for keep- 
ing Lent : 

III. Because fasting and self-denial help 
us in three ways : (a) by proving our love 
for Christ by suffering with Him, (b) by 
giving us power over our bodily desires and 
appetites, (c) by making us less likely to sin, 
{d) by fitting us to e7idure suffering and 
trial other than voluntary if it should come. 

This then is the rule of Sacrifice* 
Here are four great arguments. The 

* Treated of in a subsequent chapter. 
44 



Scriptural Authority. 



first point needs no proof (a) that as it is 
love for the dear Redeemer, Who died for 
us, that prompts all sacrifice, so the making 
of the sacrifice shows the reality and power 
of this love. 

In the second point, also, we see (b) that 
the stronger grows the spiritual nature 
(and all this fasting and sacrifice tends to 
develop this growth) the weaker becomes 
the lower nature. The desires and appe- 
tites are tamed and controlled by the soul 
or spirit living in communion with God, 
and drawing its source of help from above. 
Two opposite forces cannot reign at the 
same time, hence the triumph of the spirit- 
ual nature means the defeat of the bodily 
one. 

Still further, we find in the third point 
{c) that the desire for sinning becomes less, 
the more we live the life of the Crucified 

45 



A Layman's Lent. 



and strive after the things above, for he 
who is occupied with spiritual matters and 
works emanating from the love of such, 
has little time or desire for those things 
" of the earth, earthy." 

And, lastly, to glance at the fourth point, 
we perceive id) that this keeping in sub- 
jection the desires of the flesh, this morti- 
fying of the body, this bringing of the lower 
nature under the rule of the higher nature, 
is also developing our strength and force 
of will, for it enables us to school ourselves 
to do without certain things, to endure 
hardships and to bear disappointments, all, 
so to speak, voluntary, inasmuch as they 
are done from love and not perforce, yet 
useful in their way, as being preparatory 
to sorrows and trials that may fall to our 
lot in the years to come. 

This voluntary subjecting of ourselves to 
4 6 



Scriptural Authority. 



disappointment and hardship also arouses 
our sympathy for those who have little 
but such experiences in their lives, which 
brings us to our fourth great reason for 
observing Lent: 

IV. Because our drawing away from 
worldly pleasure gives us the time, and our 
self-denial gives us the money to devote to 
the alleviation of distress about us. 

In the statement of this, the fourth great 
reason for keeping Lent, is almost all the 
explanation needed for understanding it. 

The giving to the Church and to the poor 
should ever be regarded as one of the most 
holy duties and most precious privileges of 
the Christian, and when this can be done 
in person, it should fill one with even 
greater joy, for in all such ministrations 
we are brought face to face with the 

47 



A Layman s Lent. 



poor Lazarus at the gate, the destitute and 
wretched, to whom when we give our dear 
Lord says we give unto Him : "Inasmuch 
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these 
my children, ye have done it unto Me" 

Of course, we should always seek this 
privilege, yet in the bustle and rush of this 
nineteenth century civilization it is often 
hard to find the time. Here, then, Lent, 
coming with the endorsement of the Holy 
Catholic Church, urges these great reasons, 
among others, to persuade all to avail 
themselves of this holy season, with its 
manifold privileges and opportunities, only 
secured to most of us by a withdrawing to 
some extent from the cares or pleasures of 
the world. 

Called by Christ, bidden by the Church, 
urged by our better nature, let us realize 
the force and strength of these reasons for 

4 8 



Scriptural Authority. 



observing this solemn season, but let the 
controlling motive of our keeping of Lent 
be not logic but love, such a love as passeth 
the love of man, inasmuch as it comes from 
God to us and goes out from us to God, in 
adoration, service, and sacrifice. 



49 



IV. 



OBJECTIONS TO THE OBSERVANCE OF LENT 
ANSWERED. 

We have considered some of the chief 
reasons for observing Lent. We have seen 
that the earnest and sincere Christian 
should deem it his bounden duty to keep 
this solemn season. We have also seen 
how the doing of this should be a precious 
privilege, rather than a great sacrifice, a 
willing offering of one's self from love of 
the Master. And, finally, we have found 
that the strongest argument we can have 
to persuade others to keep Lent is to make 
our own lives show forth a devout and 

50 



Objections Answered. 



consistent example of the religion we 
profess. 

Let us now examine the objections gen- 
erally urged against the observance of 
this holy season, and show either the fal- 
lacy of such arguments, or the true animus 
that prompts them. It will take but little 
space to do this, for with the exception of 
the first objection, all may be compre- 
hended in the statement that these per- 
sons do not keep Lent, or want others to 
keep it, because they do not desire in any 
w r ay to put a curb on their lower nature or 
restrain any of its desires, except, perhaps, 
the most sinful ones. In other words, if 
such people have any religion at all, it is 
of a negative kind. 

Of the objections urged, perhaps the 
one most frequently met with is : 

I. God is not pleased at the sight of men 
51 



A Layman's Lent. 



fasting and denying themselves, when He 
has surrounded them with gifts and bless- 
ings that are to be enjoyed. 

A more specious objection could hardly 
be made. In the first place, it shows a 
woful ignorance of God and God's ways, 
as revealed to us in Holy Scripture, and a 
sad inability to conceive of or understand 
the Divine plan so clearly shown in the 
Mystery of Life. 

If God does not want sacrifices, why 
then throughout the Scriptures do we find 
such full and definite directions given for 
them ? They formed the basis of the 
Mosaic law, that law given from Mount 
Sinai by God Himself, veiled in the fire 
and clouds. They are advocated in all of 
the writings of the Prophets, who we be- 
lieve were the mouthpieces of the Almighty. 
They are woven through and through the 

52 



Objections Answered. 



Epistles of Saint Paul, the great Apostle 
to the Gentiles. They are the life of the 
teachings of our Blessed Lord as given to 
us in the Holy Gospels — where especially 
we have shown to us the greatest and 
most ideal of all sacrifices, the sacrifice 
of self, commanded by Jesus Himself, 
and exemplied in His own Sacrifice and 
Death on the Cross, for the sins of the 
whole world. 

There is nothing vague or indefinite 
about these teachings. They are not 
capable of various interpretations. They 
are not figurative expressions. On the 
contrary, these commands are clear and 
lucid, and are intended to be taken liter- 
ally, for indeed only in that sense can they 
be understood. 

Prayer, fasting, sacrifice are continually 
mentioned, and we are constrained to 

53 



A Layman's Lent. 



practice them. We have not space to 
quote at length, but the few instances 
we give will show how generally through 
the Scriptures is such teaching found: 
in the Prophet Joel ii, we have a di- 
rect call for the people to assemble 
together, beginning with the 12th verse, 
"Turn ye even to Me, saith the Lord, with 
all your heart, and with fasting, and with 
weeping, and with mourning" and contin- 
uing he gives definite directions for such a 
time of penitence ; in the Psalter we find 
in many of those penitential psalms the 
same authority, and in Psalm xxxv, 13, we 
read, "I put on sackcloth and humbled my 
soul with fasting" and in cix, 23, " My 
knees are weak through fasting : my flesh 
is dried up for want of fatness" in the 
Gospels we observe that sacrifice and fast- 
ing are continually advocated, and in Saint 

54 



Objections Answered. 



Matthew xvii, 21, we read of some sins 
that the only way to escape them is this : 
" Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by 
prayer and fasting;" and again we find 
Saint Paul in his wonderfully powerful 
Epistles not only tells us of that which the 
love of Christ enabled him to do, but also 
in II Corinthians, vi, 5, lays it down as a 
law of all workers for our Blessed Lord 
to approve themselves "in labours, in 
watchings, in fastings" and in his Epistle 
to the Romans xii, 1, beseeches all " that 
ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your 
reasonable service," and once more in his 
first letter to the Corinthians, ix, 27, tells 
us " But I keep tinder my body and bring it 
into subjection" 

These are not isolated cases. The 
whole Bible is aglow with this idea of 

55 



A Layman s Lent, 



bodily self-sacrifice, and if it needed more 
to urge it (and it seems almost like blas- 
phemy to suggest such need !) than the 
example of our Most Holy Redeemer and 
the Saints and Apostles of all ages, the 
inspired words of Saint Paul to the Ro- 
mans should be conclusive proof of God's 
approval of fasting and sacrifice, for herein 
the great Apostle commands us to offer 
these our bodies as a " living sacrifice" 
and continuing tells us this is " acceptable " 
to God and our "reasonable service!' 

As an answer then to the first point in this 
principal objection urged, let all note that 
as our knowledge of Christ and His com- 
mands comes from the Church and the Bible, 
so we are to turn there for our authority 
on this question, and on doing so we have 
found that fasting and self-sacrifice are 
most emphatically set forth and enjoined. 

56 



Objections Answered. 



Taking up then the second part of this 
objection, viz. : that God gives us His 
blessings to use, by which blessings in this 
instance we mean those things that minis- 
ter to our bodies, we need only say that to 
think for one moment that they are to be 
used and enjoyed at all times is to miss, 
as we have already stated, the true mean- 
ing of the Mystery of Life, wherein it is 
part of the Divine plan to surround us with 
these blessings, at the same time accom- 
panying them with a sufficiency of Divine 
grace, to see if we will use that grace to 
rise above mere creature comforts and 
strive for the things of the soul. 

Again, as at times in our physical nature 
we are obliged to forego certain things in 
themselves generally harmless to us, in 
order to bring back the body to a better 
condition of health, so in our spiritual na- 

57 



A Layman's Lent. 



ture certain things have occasionally to be 
given up, to bring this higher part of our 
being into a more sound state of spiritual 
health. 

To this first objection then we oppose 
two answers, (i) that the teaching of the 
Church and the Bible is positive in advo- 
cating fasting and sacrifice ; (2) that it is 
part of the Mystery of Life that creature 
comforts in themselves harmless are some- 
times to be given up in following out the 
Divine plan. 

Another objection urged is : 

II. "Prayer and fasting often make one 
cross or at least sober-minded. Why not 
live and enjoy life and ' eat, drink, and be 
meny ' ?" In reply to this we would say 
that prayer and fasting should never make 
any one cross, for though such a condition 
may arise from the fast, a special object of 

58 



Objections Answered. 



the prayer should be to conquer any incli- 
nation to peevishness or irritability. An 
earnest keeper of Lent will apply himself 
specially to overcome any such temptation. 
As to being "sober-minded," contrary 
to what some may think, that trait is a 
virtue. Life is not a playground, where 
naught but laughter resounds or pleasure 
is found. It is a rough, hard battle-field, 
where sometimes we have to marshal all 
of our forces to repel the assaults of the 
Devil, sometimes to sleep on the cold, hard 
ground of loneliness and discouragement. 
It behooves us to be " sober-minded/' for 
death may come as " a thief in the night," 
but with this sober-mindedness, our re- 
ligion should so pervade our being that the 
love, the happiness, and the joy of our 
spiritual life and hope should illumine our 
faces, as a lamp does a sombre yet noble 

59 



A Layman's Lent. 



room. Sober-minded, yet cheerful ; grave 
in spirit, yet smiling of face; contemplat- 
ing heavenly, spiritual heights, yet conde- 
scending to earthly matters — ever trying 
to shed forth the love of the Crucified into 
the burden-bearing or the pleasure-loving 
lives about us. 

" Eat, drink, and be merry " is a heathen 
maxim, and ill-befitting a Christian. We 
may, it is true, do all three, and there is no 
sin in the doing of them, but as there is a 
time for all things, " a time to weep, and a 
time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to 
dance" so Lent is a time for meditation 
and mourning, and not a season of merri- 
ment and rejoicing, for we mourn for the 
sufferings of Christ and for the sins of the 
world that made necessary His Atoning 
Sacrifice. 

We will now consider a third objection : 
60 



Objections Answered. 



III. So much church going is simply " re- 
ligious dissipation" Who first propounded 
such a sentiment we know not, but it is 
one unbecoming a true man> much less a 
devout Christian. Can a lover do too 
much for the one he loves ? Can he go 
too often to the house of his loved one ? 
How infinitely more then must this answer 
to those questions, which of necessity must 
be " No," apply to spiritual things. Truly 
the lover of his Saviour cannot do too 
much for Him ! He cannot pray too much, 
or make too many sacrifices for Him Who 
died for all ! He cannot go too often to 
His House, hallowed by His abiding Pres- 
ence, and sanctified as a place of worship 
of His Holy Catholic Church ! 

Ah ! Scorn such an objection, for Chris- 
tians do not dissipate, and devotion and 
sacrifice and worship are not dissipation, 

61 



A Layman's Lent. 



but the love and aspiration of the soul to 
Him, Who, when all men change, changeth 
not! 

The scoffer or irreligious is now well- 
nigh beaten back. He cannot quote Scrip- 
ture against the observance of Lent, he 
cannot use the other two objections al- 
ready quoted, for the thoughtful man will 
soon prove him a fool. Now he turns to 
weapons of a lower nature, and urges as 
another objection : 

IV. Lent makes one neglect business or 
household duties. Does it ? If not, then 
the man who urges such an objection is a 
liar before God. Such an one himself may 
for a day of worldly pleasure, or a night 
of wild revelry unfit himself for his busi- 
ness duties, or absent himself altogether 
from them, but we would fain think, as, 

thank God, it has been our observation, 

62 



Objections Answered. 



that the majority of Lenten observers feel 
all the greater responsibility of fulfilling 
their several tasks and doing them well 
from this keeping of Lent. 

An hour in the early morning in church 
kneeling before God's Altar, gaining help 
and grace from partaking of the Blessed 
Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood ; 
an hour stolen from a night's slumbers to 
be spent in prayer and devotion, searching 
for one's sins and confessing them humbly 
to God ; a few moments taken from lun- 
cheon to listen to an address at a midday 
service, or to kneel in quiet meditation in 
dim cathedral aisle — is this neglecting 
one's duties ? We think not, and we ven- 
ture to say that by far the larger number 
who thus pass their Lent, drawing closer to 
God, never let their household duties or 
their professional duties suffer for want of 

63 



A Layman s Lent. 



attention or time, for these devotions are 
made at hours and seasons that are the 
worshiper's own, that usually by him are 
devoted to rest or recreation, and are now 
turned to religious exercises. 

Yet herein comes a solemn injunction 
for those who insist upon such working 
hours as prevent them or their employees 
from benefiting by the many additional 
church services the Lenten seasons offers. 
Let all such remember their responsibility 
before God, and let them make the oppor- 
tunity for all to worship at some time if so 
disposed. Hypocritical posing as a saint 
may result in such a man turning out a 
great scoundrel and defaulter, but true 
religion, devoutly followed out, is one of 
the greatest incentives to honesty, sobriety, 
and purity, for such religion of necessity 
constrains to these virtues. 

6 4 



Objections Answered. 



Then as a last great objection we hear 
urged by our now conquered opponents : 

V. Those who observe Lent do not them- 
selves seem to benefit by it. Perhaps not in 
the eyes of the world. Perhaps in some 
cases really not bettered. Yet such ob- 
jectors forget that in the latter case the 
keepers of Lent evidently are not in 
earnest, are not using the right means to 
attain their object, while in the former case 
these people who do not appear to be bene- 
fited might be many times worse if such a 
solemn period was not observed by them. 

In other words, religion may not always 
make saints, but it may keep from becom- 
ing sinners. To resist sin is at least going 
so far on the road to holiness. Negative 
religion, while always sadly lacking in 
power and force as compared to positive 
religion, is at least incomparably better 

65 



A Layman's Lent. 



than no religion at all. So those, so criti- 
cised by the objector, may indeed be fight- 
ing a great fight with sin, and while not 
advancing into the enemy's country yet 
may be bravely and successfully holding 
their own against these assaults of the 
Devil. 

We have gone over a few of the main 
objections urged against the keeping of 
Lent and we hope we have proven how 
trivial and foolish they are. These objec- 
tions may be differently phrased. They 
may come clad in the remark that if we 
keep Lent, the arguments hold good for 
the whole year, yet here they are wrong, 
and we would fain think that no great 
reasons for and no great reasons against 
the observance of Lent can be found that 
are not covered or contained in the head- 
ings we have suggested, and which it has 

66 



Objections Answered. 



been our aim to try to explain or to 
answer. Trusting then that we have sat- 
isfied ourselves and others as to why we 
should keep Lent, let us specially in the 
next few chapters consider the special 
helps we can get from the privileges of the 
Spiritual Life and the Life of Sacrifice, re- 
minding all as we do so that if now 
convinced of the bounden duty of all to 
keep Lent, then those who after this, heed 
not the call, assume a heavy responsibility, 
for " those who knoweth the right, and do 
it not to them it is sin." 



67 



V. 



THE SPIRITUAL LIFE. 



It is in the Spiritual Life that Church- 
men are chiefly lacking at the present day. 
Yet it is among the greatest accompani- 
ments of our Christian Belief, for as an 
earnest faith can never exist in the soul of 
man unless it blossoms forth in love for 
God, so this love for God will be but weak 
and unreal unless it inspires the possessor 
to acts of devotion, showing forth this love, 
which devotion makes the Spiritual Life. 

Perhaps we can find no greater contrast 
between the Christianity of Apostolic times 
and the Christianity of the day than in this 
respect. Then, when confession of the 

68 



The Spiritual Life. 



faith meant persecution, suffering, and 
oftentimes death, the Christian never fal- 
tered in his worship to God Who had 
created him, in his devotion to Christ, Who 
had died for him. 

In darkened cellars, in upper rooms, in 
gloomy Catacombs we see them leading 
this Spiritual Life. They believed that 
which Saint Paul said : " ... to live is 
Christy and to die is gain!' 

So too in Mediaeval times we see a devo- 
tion rarely equalled, and though somewhat 
dimmed with the clouds of superstition and 
bigotry, the modern Christian has just 
cause to turn away in shame and sorrow, 
as he views his negative religion and com- 
pares it with the warm, earnest devotion 
and love of the Middle Ages. Then holy 
monks — and most of them were holy, not- 
withstanding some who fell and brought 

69 



A Layman s Lent. 



disgrace upon their Orders — patiently 
toiled, erecting mighty Cathedrals or illu- 
minating precious manuscripts to God's 
Glory ; then sorrowing penitents kneeling 
before the Crucifix on the wall of their 
bare cells communed with the Almighty 
or meditated on the Passion of our Most 
Holy Redeemer ; then gallant knights and 
warriors braved the sands and suns of the 
deserts to try to free their Saviour's tomb 
from Moslem insult and sacrilege ; then 
holy women nursed the sick, cared for the 
homeless, and taught the ignorant, all the 
while, like the monks, practising a self- 
denial never witnessed elsewhere. 

Now, instead of trying how much he can 
do for the Crucified, man is content with 
trying to see how little he can do. Instead 
of his whole life being lived for God and in 
God's Presence, he is satisfied to live with- 

70 



The Spiritual Life. 



out Him, except at certain times, when, in 
his presumption, he decides to give up so 
much time to God's Worship. Are we 
exaggerating? Glance about you, and, 
without judgment, see how few in their 
daily labour seem to remember God or 
His being ever present among them. 
Truly many an evil deed would never be 
done if that great truth could be realized 
and followed out. 

Let us even go a step further and let 
the light stream into our souls and 
hearts ! Do we ourselves remember this 
wondrous truth that God knows our every 
thought, that He hears our every word, 
that He sees our every act ? 

Do we try to do all that we do to His 
Glory, winning worldly success or earning 
our daily wage, as is right and proper, but 
chiefly happy in the obtaining of them be- 

71 



A Layman s Lent. 



cause it adds to God's Glory, in that our 
lives are useful ? Do we think how every 
sin we do must add to the weight that our 
Blessed Lord, who is the Sin-Bearer, has 
to bear? Do we by frequent devotions 
try to show our sorrow for our sins and 
gain grace to conquer them, ever growing 
purer and holier by the aid of this spiritual 
life ? No, many a Christian of to-day does 
not, and inasmuch as he does not, he is 
lacking so much in the love that Christ 
calls for, he is missing so far the precious 
opportunity of drawing close to Him Who 
says to all, rich and poor, high and low, 
" Come unto Me and I will give you rest" 
Modern Christianity may found Hos- 
pitals and endow Colleges, may build 
Schools and organize Charities, yet these 
works can as readily be done from humani- 
tarian motives, from love or pity for man- 

72 



The Spiritual Life, 



kind, and unless prompted purely and 
simply by a love of Christ they are so far 
meaningless as an evidence of religion. 
Given, however, this Spiritual Life, this in- 
tense love of Jesus, this ever-present reali- 
zation of His Sacrifice and Death, and 
what a wealth of Christian offering do such 
works become ! 

As the mediaeval artist pictured on glow- 
ing canvas his conception of sacred per- 
sonages, Whose very Divinity shone forth 
because the artist's soul was pervaded with 
the religious love that he tried to express ; 
as the monk on bended knee chiselled into 
life and beauty the stone that was to form 
part of that glorious Cathedral pile being 
reared to God, a holy exaltation seeming 
to illumine his pale face, as little by little 
the sculptured stone assumed the ideal 
for which he was striving- • so in a more 

73 



A Layman's Lent. 



prosaic sense, yet nevertheless as true and 
real, will both the work and the giver be 
blessed if the love of Christ is the im- 
pelling power. The soul of the giver will 
have that happy consciousness of doing his 
little for our Blessed Lord ; the very work 
itself, the Hospital or College, School or 
Charity, will have an added blessing in the 
more spiritual interest the donor will take 
in them. 

As in great things, so in small ones : our 
household duties, professional duties, busi- 
ness duties, or whatever the labours may 
be, are better done when done to God, as in 
His Presence, and what is more, they lose 
much of their labouriousness if done in 
this way. Even the little child (whom our 
dear Lord particularly calls to Him, for He 
not only loves dearly these innocent little 
souls, but also tells us that if we are to 

74 



The Spiritual Life. 



gain Heaven we must be like them in 
purity and child-like faith) can early begin 
his life for Christ, doing his little part to 
copy and please Him, the Good Shepherd, 
Who like the earthly shepherd who brands 
his sheep with his sign, marks every child 
of His with the sign of the Cross in Holy 
Baptism. 

If then, this Spiritual Life is so essen- 
tial to the usefulness of all, if it seems so 
sadly lacking in our midst to-day, how can 
we gain it and cultivate it, so that we can 
have its grace illuminating our lives ? By 
Prayer, by Meditation, by Reading, and by 
Holy Communion, and especially in this 
holy season of Lent, when the Church in 
her added services, opens wide her doors 
as she calls all to the foot of the Cross. 

There are many ways in which these 
four great aids to the Spiritual Life may 

75 



A Layman s Lent. 



be cultivated. It is not our province to 
assume to direct as a Priest, and it may 
be better for each one to consult the 
parish clergy for suggestions in this re- 
spect, yet as we ourselves have learned 
from the Church certain ways that prove 
more or less helpful, we venture to outline 
below a short and practical scheme for the 
cultivation of this life, in the hope, how- 
ever, that none will stop there, but will go 
"from strength to strength" ever seeking 
a higher ideal of the Christian Life. 

Prayer : In prayer we raise our souls to 
God, the creature speaks to the Creator, 
the sinner to his Judge. Never a man was 
born who did not feel the need of prayer, 
who did not feel this great longing of the 
soul. He may stifle the voice, he may, in 
his presumption, say there is no God, he 
may deny the usefulness of prayer, but 

76 



The Spiritual Life. 



the feeling of dependency is latent in his 
heart all the same, and though for a time 
he may forget it, sooner or later there will 
come a time when life to him without 
prayer will seem a long, dreary existence. 
Let him pray, however, and life expands 
in a wonderful way before him, for " the 
prayers of a righteous man availeth much" 
and even the trials and sorrows and griefs 
of such an one are resignedly borne. 

Many people, however, do not know 
how to pray. Some pray formally, as if 
the mere act of praying is all that is neces- 
sary. Others formulate and utter long 
petitions to God, telling God, as it were, 
what He should do for them, the sup- 
pliants, as if God does not know best. In 
the former case there is no earnestness or 
heart worship, in the latter case there is no 
humility or comprehension of God's ways, 

77 



A Layman 's Lent. 



We do not purpose to enter into what 
we might term a " theological definition " 
of prayer. We will say, however, that 
prayer is of several kinds. There is prayer 
of Thanksgiving which renders God thanks 
for all of His blessings, but above all, for 
His "inestimable love in the redemption of 
the world by our Lord and Saviour yesus 
Christ, for the means of grace and for the 
hope of glory!' This kind of prayer is 
best seen in the service of the celebration 
of the Holy Communion, the other name 
of which, Eucharist, means "thanksgiving." 

Then there is prayer of Confession, ask- 
ing God's forgiveness for our sins. This 
should always be as full and as complete 
as we can make it, yet never going so 
much into detail as to lose sight of the 
fact that God knows all our sins before 
we confess them, only requiring such con- 

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The Spiritual Life. 



fession as a mark of humility and sincere 
repentance. 

Then, lastly, there is prayer of Supplica- 
tion, or the asking for blessings, help or 
grace for our spiritual and bodily needs. 
Here it should be noted that while such 
supplication is quite right, being, in fact, 
a great help and comfort to mankind, two 
things should be guarded against: (i) 
asking God for that which is wrong, not 
only those things that are of themselves 
evil, and consequently will not be granted 
by God, but also those things that may of 
themselves be good, yet for us would be 
harmful ; (2) asking God for anything 
without coupling with it, the humble atti- 
tude of the heart as well as the words of 
the mouth, "if it he Thy will." 

Too often in praying we forget this sim- 
ple truth : that we view things with a finite 

79 



A Layman's Lent. 



mind, and so may often see them wrongly, 
while God sees them with an Infinite Mind, 
and knows that which is right and that 
which is not right for us. Prayers too, are 
generally answered (perhaps we may say 
are always answered), although we may 
not see the answer when it comes, or the 
answer may be of a kind different from 
that which we had expected. 

Let us, then, learn as our chief lessons 
from prayer: (i) that in the Mystery of 
Life God's ways are not our ways ; (2) 
that our petitions must be earnest and 
from the heart ; (3) that we must realize 
to Whom we are praying; (4) that we 
must never forget humility and reverence, 
and ever wish God's will, and not ours, to 
be done. 

Prayer, whether of thanksgiving, con- 
fession or supplication, may be either in 

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The Spiritual Life. 



the liturgical forms set forth in our Book 
of Common Prayer, and works of Devotion, 
or in our own imperfect words. Undoubt- 
edly, the better way is to combine both 
methods, for as our own words may more 
truly express our individual feelings, so 
the written prayers help us in making our 
petitions more acceptable. Combining 
them too, guards against formalism on the 
one hand, and carelessness on the other. 
The one way represents the finer mind of 
the Church as a body, the other way, the 
full heart of man as an individual. 

Prayer, too, may be by Intention. The 
Lord's Prayer for instance, may be offered 
up in place of the petitions of the soul 
that one would frame if he could, coupled 
with it being the intention that this Prayer 
should stand in place of those the suppliant 
cannot express. Some especially advocate 

81 



A Layman's Lent. 



this, as the Lord's Prayer, in its several 
clauses, covers every need of body and 
soul. 

In preparation for partaking of the 
Blessed Sacrament, our prayer should be 
very earnest and our examination very 
thorough, for not only is it requisite to be 
penitent for sin, but it is also necessary, if 
we would conquer that sin, to know exactly 
what it is and under what guise it comes. 
A helpful way of examination is : (i) by the 
Rule of the Ten Commandments, seeing 
wherein we have disobeyed them ; (2) by 
the Seven Deadly Sins of Lust, Anger, 
Pride, Covetousness, Sloth, Envy, and 
Gluttony, and each and every phase of 
those sins ; (3) by the great virtues of Faith, 
Hope, and Charity, finding out wherein we 
have fallen short of our duty in those re- 
spects. This examination, followed by con- 

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The Spiritual Life. 



fession of our sins to God, accompanied by 
sincere repentance, coupled with restitu- 
tion, and continued in contrition, enables us 
worthily to make our communion and to 
partake of the Blessed Sacrament. 

It has always been a devout custom to 
say Morning and Evening Prayers in the 
Family as well as in the Church, and until 
this custom is again generally observed in 
our midst, the spiritual life will continue to 
be lacking.* It is a lovely thought, too : 
as a Family, to speak to God in Prayer 
before going to the labours of the day, to 
ask His blessing in Prayer before retiring 
for the night. 

Let us then seek every opportunity for 
prayer, and especially during the season 



* A short form of daily Family Morning and Evening Prayers 
is appended to this little work. 

83 



A Layman's Lent. 



of Lent. Let our lives be full of prayer, 
for it ever brings us closer to the Master. 

Let us seek to attend the Church services, 
and there join in the formal offering up of 
the Church's written prayers ; let us have 
twice daily Family Prayers at home ; and 
let as apart, individually, in the quiet 
seclusion of Church, Chapel, or sleeping 
room humbly on bended knees, try in fer- 
vent, earnest prayer, (our own prayers and 
the Church's prayers,) to reach after the 
things " pertaining to God," and fit our- 
selves for the Life Everlasting. 

In closing this topic let us glance for a 
moment at the Lord's Prayer. What a 
wonderful wealth of meaning is contained 
in that name ! Prayed by Him ! Taught 
by Him ! Commanded by Him ! The 
prayer of God the Son, to God the 
Father, of the Redeemer to the Creator, 

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The Spiritual Life. 



given to us finite creatures to use in ad- 
dressing the Infinite One, and given to us 
in the blessed words of the dear Lord 
Himself. 

It is a prayer above all prayers, hallowed 
by Christ's own use, sanctioned by His com- 
mand, and endeared alike for its inherent 
beauty and its association with Him and 
the holy men of all ages. 

It is almost the first prayer uttered by 
the little child kneeling at its mother's 
knee ; it is almost the last prayer breathed 
by the dying Christian, standing on the 
brink of the grave. It has its place in 
every service of the Church, and in the 
Celebration of the Holy Communion it ap- 
pears twice, first to be used by the Priest 
alone as an approach to the solemn service 
he is to celebrate, secondly, to be used by 
Priest and people together as an humble 

85 



A Layman's Lent. 



form of thanksgiving after partaking of 
the Blessed Sacrament 

In its successive clauses it embodies all 
the needs and aspirations of the human 
soul. First it contemplates the Majesty 
and Glory of God {Our Father, Who art 
in Heaven), then it acknowledges the 
holiness of His Name {Hallowed be Thy 
Name), prays for His Holy Church 
{Thy kingdom come), and humbly accepts 
the necessity and rightfulness of His 
will always and everywhere being done 
{Thy will be done on earth as it is in 
Heaven). Continuing it changes from 
adoration, so to speak, to supplication, 
and petitions for all we need for body 
and soul, for the bread of life, Christ's 
words, His grace, His strength, His Sac- 
rament, and also for the earthly bread, 
or those things we need for bodily sus- 

86 



The Spiritual Life. 



tenance or happiness ( Give us this day our 
daily bread). 

This supplication is continued, but now 
coupled with confession, for in the following 
clauses we beg for forgiveness for our 
sins, realizing, however, that we cannot 
obtain this unless we, too, pardon those 
who have done evil to us, {And forgive 
us our trespasses as we forgive those who 
trespass against us.) Then we break out 
with the whole strength of our heart, asking 
God not to lead or permit us to go into 
temptation too great for us to resist, but 
to grant us so to go into temptation as to 
resist it by His grace, knowing as Saint 
James says (i, 13), that we are tempted 
with evil, not by God but by our own lust 
{And lead us not into temptation) . Quickly 
we follow on with the next petition : to be 
delivered from all evil that may assault the 

87 



A Layman's Lent. 



body or the soul, unless, of course, it is 
God's will that we should undergo such 
trial {But deliver us from evil). And, con- 
tinuing, we end with the beautiful ascrip- 
tion of adoration to Almighty God {For 
Thine is the kingdom and the power and 
the glory for ever and ever) . 

Study the petitions of this prayer ; mark 
its beauty and its simplicity, its brevity and 
its adaptability to all the needs of man ; 
say it and many another prayer frequently 
this Lent, with a sincere desire to be better, 
and we venture to say that Easter will find 
all who do this happier and holier, and well 
on the road of the spiritual life. 

Meditation : In prayer we address God, 
praising Him for His goodness and thank- 
ing Him for His blessings, beseeching Him 
for our needs and confessing to Him our 



The Spiritual Life. 



frailties. In Meditation we think of Him, 
the " Father of Lights from Whom cometh 
every good and perfect gift!' 

Oh ! What a blessed privilege is this : to 
think of God, for to think of Him is, for the 
time being, to live with Him. No human 
mind, it is true, can conceive of God as He 
is, for finiteness cannot grasp infiniteness, 
yet, as a little child loves to gaze into his 
earthly father's face, and ofttimes thinks of 
that father's love for him, although he may 
not understand that father's being, so we, 
the children of God, can look in spirit at 
our Heavenly Father and think of His 
graciousness, although we may not com- 
prehend His Deity. 

In meditation, the soul grows into har- 
mony with the Divine mind, for the higher 
we raise our thoughts above earthly things, 
the more heavenly things come and dwell 

8f 



A Layman s Lent. 



in us. The Beatitude says : " Blessed are 
the pure in heart, for they shall see God" 
here now on earth as well as hereafter. 
Will any gainsay the statement that the 
earnest communicant at the Altar, the 
devout soul in meditation, the fervent man 
in prayer, does not see God, though it be 
" through a glass darkly " ? We fancy not, 
for never one tries to raise himself to a 
higher life and to strive after the things per- 
taining to God, that the Heavenly Father 
does not send His Light and Grace to 
brighten the way. 

In meditation we may think of the Father, 
the First Person of the Trinity, as the Cre- 
ator and Ruler, of all His wondrous works 
about us, of His Divine guidance through 
all the ages of the world, and of the many 
blessings with which He surrounds us. 
Or we may think of Christ, the Second 

9 o 



The Spiritual Life. 



Person of the Trinity, as our Saviour and 
Judge, of His miraculous birth, of His per- 
fect life in His humanity, of His beautiful 
teachings, of His bitter Passion and Death 
on the Cross, and we may contemplate 
Him as now in Glory, He, the Crucified 
One sits at the Right Hand of God. Or 
again we may think of the Holy Ghost, the 
Third Person of the Trinity, of His mar- 
vellous works and powers, of His ever 
dwelling with us, of His speaking to our 
inmost souls, urging us to do right, re- 
straining us from doing evil. 

This meditation may be well made some- 
times silently kneeling in dim Cathedral 
aisle, or quiet Church, gazing at the Cross 
that rears itself upon the Rood Screen 
under the vaulted heights ; sometimes at 
home, looking on the Crucifix, the re- 
minder of our Blessed Saviour's Death, 

91 



A Layman s Lent. 



thinking of that sacred symbol, until the 
reality of that of which it is but the sign 
dawns more and more upon us, and before 
our eyes we see the Suffering Christ, 
as on that Tree of Calvary He shows us 
the greatest agony that the world has ever 
seen, while He seems to beckon us with 
those pierced, outstretched arms, to come 
unto Him, " the Lamb of God Who taketh 
away the Sins of the World? 

Another plan is to select a passage of 
Holy Scripture, study it, read the com- 
mentary upon it, and then reverently and 
earnestly consider it in all its bearings, try- 
ing to obtain some strong lesson to apply 
to our own lives and experiences. 

Still another suggestion, and this is one 
that even a little child may follow, is to pro- 
cure some book of drawings or photographs 
of Holy Persons, Scriptural characters or 

92 



The Spiritual Life. 



scenes, pictured by the greatest artists of 
ancient or modern times, and then with it 
in hand to turn its pages with a devotional 
spirit, thinking of the meaning of each and 
every subject we see. We well know 
in the early days of the Church, when few 
could read, that the people were taught 
the central doctrines of the Christian Re- 
ligion by means of pictorial representation, 
giving rise to the illuminated books, the 
rich stained windows, and the life-like 
carvings, still the glory of our Cathedrals 
and Churches. Why not still follow to 
some extent a practice that cannot but 
exercise a good effect upon all ? 

In this fleeting life let us then not forego 
meditation of Him Who makes the Ever- 
lasting Life a possibility, and especially in 
Lent, when we commemorate Christ's 
Fasting in the Wilderness, let us think 

93 



A Layman s Lent. 



oft and deeply upon His Passion and 
Crucifixion. 

Reading : This needs but few words to 
endorse it, for it should be apparent to all 
that if we would learn much about God we 
must read that which tells us of Him. And 
in Lent it will also form a consistent part 
of our withdrawal from the world if we de- 
vote what leisure we have for reading to 
works of a religious or devotional charac- 
ter, 

Study the Holy Scriptures — we cannot 
know too much of their teaching ; the 
Book of Common Prayer — it forms part 
of our Church life ; books of devotion and 
instruction — they raise the soul to God ; 
works of religious history and doctrine — 
they explain the things pertaining to 
God. 

94 



The Spiritual Life. 



And above all, let there be a method in 
our reading. Let us not attempt too much, 
yet let us aim high, for better to fall short 
of a noble ideal than to choose a low one 
and scarcely attain it. 

Holy Communion : In prayer, in medi- 
tation, in reading, we go to God; in Holy 
Communion God comes to us. The first 
three mark our spiritual duty : the last one 
marks our spiritual privilege. 

We worship not, as the poor benighted 
heathen, a god of stone, which compre- 
hends not, which receives the adoration 
but is impotent to give a blessing, for un- 
like our God, the Living God, Who created 
his worshipers, the poor savage worships 
the stone god his own feeble art created. 

We render God our love, our adoration, 
our devotion. He rewards us here on 

95 



A Layman's Lent. 



earth by making us partakers of the 
Blessed Body and Blood of Jesus, given to 
each faithful communicant under the forms 
of bread and wine which still remain. 

Reader, have you knelt in lowly peni- 
tence at God's Altar and partaken of that 
Blessed Sacrament? If so, then you 
know of the wondrous joy and exaltation, 
the heavenly grace and comfort that 
come with the Bread of Life ! If you do 
not in some degree feel this then be as- 
sured that something is lacking in your 
approach, be it humility or repentance, love 
or faith, and if so, you should lose no time 
for a searching examination of yourself so 
as worthily to partake. 

Have you never had this Blessed Sac- 
rament? Have you never experienced 
the joy that cannot be expressed, that 
may even seem incomprehensible to all 

9 6 



The Spiritual Life. 



but those who have communicated in the 
right spirit and who know ? If not, then 
why not ? Why do you hold back ? Why 
do you not avail yourself of all of the 
privileges of the Church? If not a com- 
municant, be confirmed. If a lax communi- 
cant, resolve to be different. 

Do not put yourself in antagonism 
with Christ, our Blessed Master, Who said, 
"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man 
and drink His blood, ye have no life in yoit. 
Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my 
blood hath eternal life." It is the command 
of the Master. No Christian needs greater 
reason than that ! It is also the faith and 
practice of the Church. If we had not the 
former unanswerable reason this would be 
enough ! Come, then, trusting as a little 
child, believing that what Jesus said He 
would do, He will do, and with faith and 

97 



A Layman's Lent. 



humility, love and repentance seek Him 
Who, in His own appointed way, gives 
Himself to us in the Blessed Sacrament of 
the Altar. 

And as the Blessed Sacrament is at all 
times, not only our solace and joy, but also 
our greatest help in resisting temptation, 
let us especially in this Lenten season 
make frequent communions, for then spe- 
cially will the Devil assail us, yet fresh 
from Christ's Holy Presence, and strong 
in the help that comes in the Blessed Sac- 
rament, we will now be able to beat back 
the arch-enemy and win the battle for 
Christ. 

Herein, then, lies the power of the Spir- 
itual Life. He is not really a Christian 
who scorns such a life. He is but a luke- 
warm Christian who refuses to follow it. 
Some, in the past, may not have realized 

98 



The Spiritual Life. 



all that it means. Others may have failed 
to live up to their high ideals and good 
resolutions. 

But given an humble heart, an earnest 
resolve, and an undaunted perseverance, 
and each year will see such an one further 
on in the path of life, higher up the ladder 
that leads to the things of God. 

Let all, then, make Lent a time of test- 
ing their strength, as well as storing up 
power to resist temptation in the future, 
and let all humbly begin at once in the 
cultivation of what is a prime necessity if 
we would live for Christ and in Christ, the 
Spiritual Life. 



99 



VI. 



THE LIFE OF SACRIFICE. 

We now come to the consideration of 
the greatest and primary teaching of Lent, 
and one that in its observance embodies 
all that has gone before — the lesson of 
Sacrifice. 

We have inquired into the historical 
warrant for Lent, and have traced its ob- 
servance back to the earliest days of the 
Christian Church, showing the authority 
for the fast as presented to us in the 
Church's universal custom; we have 
searched the Scriptures and there, in that 
Holy Bible, have found our Blessed Lord's 
endorsement of such a fast, in His own 



The Life of Sacrifice. 



example, and in the teachings of His fol- 
lowers, in the Gospels and in the Epistles, 
thus giving' us the authority for the fast as 
shown to us in the Church's written teach- 
ing ; we have examined the important 
phases of the Spiritual Life, as exemplified 
in the lives of the Saints of olden time and 
in the lives of some in our midst to-day, 
seeing therein the authority for the fast as 
witnessed in the beneficial results of their 
labours and abstinences, giving to us the 
Church's teaching of expediency, and now, 
ere closing our little argument, we submit 
in the lesson of Sacrifice a fourth source 
of authority for the fast, or the Church's 
doctrine of necessity, for if we believe the 
words of Saint Paul (Epistle to the Ephe- 
sians vi, 14), " But God forbid that I 
should glory ', save in the Cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is cruci- 

IOI 



A Layman's Lent. 



fied unto me and I unto the world" then of 
necessity it becomes the duty of all to learn 
this central lesson of self-sacrifice, for 
hereby only do we own the Cross and 
copy the Life of the Crucified. 

As Christianity infuses a hidden power 
into the Mystery of Life, and makes even 
that which has seemed a monotonous round 
of duty become a glorious opportunity for 
good, so the love of Christ, which is the 
basis of all Christian living, when alone it 
prompts the every thought, word, and deed, 
transforms the sacrifice into a precious 
privilege of serving Christ. As the little 
coral insect, building in the sea, rises little 
by little in its labours, until at last, it 
reaches the air and sunlight to die, giving 
us the lovely coral island, against which 
the mighty billows of the sea thunder in 
vain, so we, by steadily doing our duty in 

1 02 



The Life of Sacrifice. 



the sea of trouble, sorrow, and toil, will rise 
superior to it all, ere we pass away to that 
eternal sunlight of God's glory, giving to 
the world an example of holy living which 
adds its power to that Church, against 
which even the powers of Hell cannot 
prevail. 

Sacrifice is not only one of the funda- 
mental bases of the Christian Religion, but 
it is also the corner-stone of the well-being 
of society. Without it society falls lower 
than the level of the brute creation, and 
drags on its existence of contemptible sel- 
fishness. With it society becomes elevated 
and ennobled, for the spirit of self-sacrifice, 
emanating from God as all noble things 
do, shines forth in its beauty in all who 
cultivate it. There may be no acknowl- 
edgment of any Christian motive prompt- 
ing it, but confessed or not, there is no 

103 



A Layman's Lent. 



denying the truth that sacrifice is essen- 
tially Christlike. 

This applies to the doers of the numer- 
ous philanthropic and humanitarian works 
seen on every side, where in their lives is 
seen the first glimmering light of Christian 
faith. Not yet do they their good deeds for 
the Blessed Master, but still in a measure 
they serve and believe in Him inasmuch as 
they do these things to His creatures, their 
brother-men. 

Thank God ! We see this lovely spirit 
of self-sacrifice even now in the midst of 
a gainsaying, naughty world ! 

How willingly does the matron bear the 
bitter pains of travail and labour, even 
cheerfully going through the valley of the 
shadow of death that she may become a 
mother ! Does she endure this to bring 
into the world an immortal soul to be 

104 



The Life of Sacrifice. 



reared to the service of Christ and 
prepared for the world to come ? Per- 
haps in many cases not so, but when- 
ever you see a good mother patiently 
teaching her child to do good and to resist 
evil, so far at least she practices if she 
does not profess the glorious vocation re- 
ferred to. From the birth of her child to 
her death, the life of a good mother is one 
of continual love and self-sacrifice ! 

How gladly a father wearily toils and 
works, sometimes far into the hours of the 
night, enduring discomfort, fatigue, and 
privation that he may surround his wife 
and family with the comforts and neces- 
saries, if not the luxuries of life, and give 
his children an opportunity in the world ! 
Does he make these sacrifices because he 
realizes that God has given to him the re- 
sponsibility not only for the support of his 

105 



A Layman's Lent. 



household, but also for its spiritual and 
moral life ? Perhaps not, yet 'he very love 
for his dear ones, that makes him reck not 
the sacrifices he makes, is a love born of 
heaven, not of earth, and in its way shows 
forth God's love. 

So it is in many spheres of life. The 
lover's life is only elevated and noble when 
mutual sacrifices enter into it ; the married 
state is only the happiest of all when its 
varied responsibilities are cheerfully as- 
sumed. Then the many sacrifices are 
gladly made, in order to minister to an- 
other's comfort or contribute to another's 
pleasure, or to cheer in joy and soothe in 
sorrow that dear one whom it has been 
God's grace and pleasure to unite in Holy 
Matrimony with the other. Aged persons 
may show it ; young children may show it ; 
all men may show it and many do show it 

106 



The Life of Sacrifice. 



— in fact, it is in sacrifice that all the rela- 
tions of the family show forth in their 
beauty. 

Sacrifice is undoubtedly an ideal of the 
social world. All commend it, though few 
practice it. Even the man who is steeped 
in the poison of selfishness and self-indulg- 
ence is rarely so far gone to what is noble 
as not to have at least a faint appreciation 
of this beauty of self-sacrifice in others. 

Yet all of these sacrifices, while ap- 
proved by the whole social state and en- 
dorsed by the Christian Church, are never- 
theless not the noblest kind, for they are 
by nature a mingling of the earth earthy 
and the heaven heavenly, the first because 
the acknowledged motive is generally to 
achieve worldly comfort or success, the 
second because whatsoever the motive, the 
act is essentially of God. 

107 



A Layman's Lent. 



If, then, such sacrifices by man for man 
are accounted virtues, how much more so 
are they so, when they are done to God and 
not to man, to the Unseen and not to the 
seen ! Here is the highest type of sacri- 
fice ! Here there can be but one motive ! 
There is no earthly reward ! There is no 
worldly gain ! The sacrifices are made to 
Him alone, Who lovingly looking down on 
the world, sees every good and evil deed, 
and in each sacrifice made for Him and to 
Him breathes upon it His blessing. 

This is the kind of sacrifice that shines 
out in the full light as a glorious privilege. 
All our sacrifices should be willing sacri- 
fices, for we do them not to propitiate a 
stern God, but to show forth love to a 
dear Redeemer. 

It needs no logical reason to support it. 

The sum of the whole argument is this : 



The Life of Sacrifice. 



Christ died for us on the cross of Calvary : 
can anything be too much for us to bear 
and suffer for Him ? Christ gave Himself 
up that He might gain for us the Hope of 
Eternal Salvation: can anything be too 
much for us to give to Him ? 

As we realize the wonderful fact of this 
Great Sacrifice of our Most Holy Re- 
deemer, which alas ! too few seem either 
to realize or to care to realize, we find in 
it both the incentive for us to make any 
and all sacrifices, and the strength to enable 
us to bear any and all sorrows. How beau- 
tiful sound the words of the great Saint 
Augustine as translated by Charles Reader 
" O Christian Soul, look on the wounds of 
the Suffering One, the blood of the dying 
One, the price paid for our redemption. 
These things, Oh, think how great they be, 
and weigh them in the balance of thy 

109 



A Layman's Lent. 



mind, that He may be wholly nailed to thy 
heart, Who for thee was all nailed unto 
the Cross ? For do but call to mind the 
sufferings of Christ and there is nought 
on earth too hard to endure with com- 
posure." If earthly love for their dear ones 
has made martyrs and heroes of many an 
one both in palace and hut, what should 
love for the Saviour make men be ? 

As sacrifice for mankind is a duty and 
a virtue, as sacrifice for Christ is a greater 
duty and a greater virtue, though here let 
it ever be remembered that we are saved 
through no merit of our own, but through 
the merits of Christ, where do we turn for 
the full embodiment and full exemplifica- 
tion of this self-sacrifice which we have 
aimed to prove is incumbent upon all who 
profess Christianity ? Truly to the Life of 
our Blessed Lord, Who, though the Son of 

no 



The Life of Sacrifice. 



God, was born of a Virgin and lived among 
men as the Perfect Man. 

To have been a perfect man He must 
have been endowed with all the various at- 
tributes of our humanity : a body in which 
to feel hunger and thirst, cold and heat ; a 
mind with which to grieve over the awful- 
ness of sin, which He above all others must 
have felt; a soul with which to seethe loveli- 
ness of God, which He alone knew. Christ 
being thus perfect, we must of necessity 
admit that each and every function of the 
body must have reached the highest de- 
velopment of which it is capable, hence the 
bodily ills and sufferings which He volun- 
tarily assumed must have been felt all the 
more acutely. That fast in the wilderness 
must have been incomparably greater to 
Him than it would have been to any of us ; 
that agony in the Garden must have 

in 



A Layman's Lent. 



brought a cup of anguish such as we could 
never conceive; that Crucifixion must 
have been such an agony to that perfect 
nervous system as we in our incomplete- 
ness can but imperfectly realize ! So in 
Him, the Sinless One, though endowed 
with our humanity, we see the Christian 
Ideal. We worship and adore Him as 
God : as man we copy and follow Him, 

Some love to copy the beautiful lives of 
dear ones about them. All should love to 
copy Him, Who is the Brother to all. 

He fasted : let us fast or abstain at stated 
periods from earthly food. He endured 
a lonely watch in the wilderness : let us 
watch and pray. He defeated the Devil 
with words of Holy Scripture ; let us study 
the sacred writings in order to do likewise. 

Yet in all that we do let our sacrifices 
be real and rational. Not like the ancient 

112 



The Life of Sacrifice. 



Manicheans do we scourge and mortify 
the flesh and speak of " this vile body," 
but rather do we remember that Christ 
tells us that our bodies are the " temples of 
the Holy Ghost" to be honoured and treated 
as such. 

There can be no iron-clad rule laid down 
for the measure of fasting each can do, but 
if we are truly in earnest, our love, con- 
trolled, however, by reason and common 
sense, will show us that which we can do, 
each in his or her own way. Here, of 
course, we refer to actual fasting from food 
and abstaining from flesh meat, two very 
different things, yet both accentuating the 
same idea. Prayer, advice, and trial, will 
show how closely we can live up to the full 
sense of the Church's requirements. 

But there are many other sacrifices all 
can make : the sacrifice of fleshly lusts by 

"3 



A Layman s Lent. 



controlling such sinful desires ; the sacri- 
fice of ease, by avoiding idleness and lazi- 
ness and having a real object in life ; the 
sacrifice of inordinate longings as for drink 
and dainties, by giving them up ; the sacri- 
fice of personal convenience and comfort 
in order to do a kind act to one who needs 
it ; the sacrifice of leisure moments in order 
to visit the sick and the poor and to help 
the work of the Church ; the sacrifice of 
money, to give liberally to those who need 
it, especially denying ourselves luxuries 
and even comforts in order to give more 
away ; the sacrifice of dislike of spiritual 
things, by bringing more heart and love to 
bear upon them so that perfunctory duties 
become religious joys ; and, lastly, the sac- 
rifice and crucifixion of self, bringing 
each and every part of our nature into sub- 
jection to Christ, so that "we live in Him 

xi4 



The Life of Sacrifice. 



and He in us" each day starting out to do 
so much for Him and so much for our fel- 
low-men. 

Now, however, we see the change in 
the latter vocation, wherein our works no 
longer done from mere philanthropic 
motives, but from the love of Christ, in- 
stead of being so much done for man be- 
come so much done for Him, for "Inas- 
much as ye have done it unto one of the least of 
these my children, ye have done it unto Me /" 

Thus all Christian sacrifices end as they 
begin, in works done for Him through love 
of Him, and as we climb this ladder of 
sacrifice, each round being some selfish 
desire that we have trodden under foot, we 
find in the conquering of self that we have 
gained that which nothing in the world 
would give us : " The peace of God, which 
passeth all understanding!' 

"5 



A Layman's Lent. 



And here a last but most helpful thought 
comes in what is known as Vicarious 
Sacrifice, or what might be interpreted in 
the language of everyday as sacrifice made 
for another, in order to atone or make ex- 
piation for sin. 

Our Blessed Master gave us the greatest 
example of this when on the Cross of Cal- 
vary, by His Sacrifice of Himself for the 
sins of the whole world, He made expiation 
and atonement for us. Vicarious sacrifice 
is often seen in our midst to-day, though 
sometimes not perceived as such, for 
whenever we give for another, whenever 
we suffer for another, whenever we bear 
for another, that in a measure is vicarious 
sacrifice. 

This thought can be carried with con- 
sistency one step further : as Christ in 
His vicarious sacrifice on the Cross atoned 

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The Life of Sacrifice. 



for the sins of the whole world and opened 
to man the Kingdom of Heaven, if man will 
so live as to gain that eternal happiness, so 
we in self-consecrated lives, and in special 
ways may make vicarious sacrifices which 
under God's Providence and with His 
Divine approval may atone for the sins of 
some one near and dear to us. 

It is a beautiful thought and a helpful 
one, and we commend it to the consider- 
ation of all, for it adds another incentive to 
the living a life of sacrifice. 

This is the lesson for all the year, but 
Lent is the battlefield. Conquer self this 
Lent, and ever keep a strong guard upon 
it, and each succeeding Lent will find less 
to win, and will partly reveal the Mystery 
of Life in the glorious privilege of self- 
sacrifice. 

Perhaps some one exclaims, " Here is 
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A Layman s Lent. 



the argument for Lent, but there is no 
rule." No ! There is no rule given. If 
any one wishes a fixed rule to be given 
him, let him consult some of the clergy, 
who are those who are the best and truest 
guides in the spiritual life and the life of 
sacrifice, as they are Christ's ordained fol- 
lowers in the Eternal Priesthood. 

And yet if there are some desirous of 
keeping Lent, who are too shy to call on 
the clergy to obtain their advice and guid- 
ance, or find it impossible to decide for 
themselves that which they should do, we 
will vouchsafe this much of a rule, very 
imperfect, it is true, yet tried and found 
helpful by laymen : 

Church-going : Go once a day to church, 
if possible, during Lent, and let nothing 
prevent you except a work of mercy or a 
call of duty. Try to hear the preaching of 

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The Life of Sacrifice. 



the Cross, and let its truths sink deep into 
the soul. Frequently be present at the 
celebration of the Holy Communion, and, 
if possible, often partake, but use special 
care that this frequency does not lessen 
the proper preparation for such a blessed 
gift. 

Fasting : Follow the rules, if possible, 
to be found in the Church's Kalendar, or 
if really assured that health and strength 
will not permit, then at least give up some- 
thing in the way of comfort or luxury that 
is hard to give up, so that the sacrifice may 
be a real one. 

Devotion: Give regularly some time 
daily to earnest prayer, if but ten minutes, 
at morning and evening. Try to find out 
your greatest sins and faults and correct 
them. Meditate regularly as suggested in 
our argument, if but five minutes at a 

"9 



A Layman's Lent. 



time. Read regularly good and helpful 
books and try to be more learned in the 
things pertaining to God. A short amount 
of time well spent in such ways is far 
better than hours which have no love 
behind them. 

Almsgiving : Give liberally to the Church 
and to the distressed. Seek out the de- 
serving poor. Sympathize with them. Do 
not ruin them with foolish alms but strive 
to help them sensibly. Study their needs 
and conditions. Look on them as brothers 
in Christ. Deny yourselves that you may 
have more to give, and do all for Christ, 
Who sees all. 

In conclusion, let love be your control- 
ling power, common sense your rudder, 
and the Cross your flag. Withdraw as 
much as possible from gayety and merri- 
ment and with quiet, happy, thankful 

120 



The Life of Sacrifice. 



hearts try to follow your rules, ever in- 
creasing that which you do as you grow in 
grace and strength. And may God bless 
and help you ! 



121 



VII. 

THE CALL OF THE CRUCIFIED. 

On the cold wintry air of the early morn 
of Ash Wednesday toll out the bells of 
the Churches ushering in the Lenten Fast. 
Deep, sonorous, musical, they call the 
hearer to God's Altar, to make confession 
of sin and renew the resolutions for a 
better life. In Church and Chapel, in 
Spire and Tower, they chime or toll, and 
their ringing seems to voice the privileges 
and joys of the Lenten season if the 
listeners will but avail themselves of them ; 
privileges and joys embodied in the one 
beautiful thought of a closer life with 
Christ. 

122 



The Call of the Crucified. 



Hark ! Dost hear that other sound, far 
more beautiful, far more inspiring than 
even the softest toned bell ! Far down the 
centuries we hear it, cheering each chang- 
ing age with its music ! In spirit we 
follow it as it seems to call us, back 
along the cycles of time, until, kneeling at 
the Cross of Calvary, we look upwards 
and see there between the earth and the 
sky the form of the Saviour ! 

It is the Voice of the Crucified One ! Far 
sweeter than chiming church bell, or any 
earthly sound, that Voice seems to say 
in loving, pleading tones : "Is it nothing to 
you, all ye that pass by?" Down through 
the centuries we hear Him asking that 
solemn question. Down through the 
centuries we see the vision of that Cross, 
underneath which seem written the words, 
" Sinner, see thy work." 

123 



A Layman's Lent. 



My brothers, the Voice of the Crucified 
is calling us now. He is pointing to the 
Cross. He is showing us that one "full, 
perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and 
satisfaction for the sins of the whole world!' 
He is re-presenting to us that wondrous 
act of suffering and death that startled 
even the heathen philosopher out of his 
sophistries and stoicism and brought many 
an one to the feet of the Crucified Christ. 
He is bringing before our eyes the greatest 
example of love that the world has ever 
witnessed or ever will witness, for there 
could be no greater ! 

Clear, beautiful, pleading the Voice of 
the Crucified sounds. My brothers, what 
answer will you make ? No lover of Him 
or follower of Him, turns away from that 
Cross ! No true servant of Him avoids 
the shadow of the Cross, as it falls across 

124 



The Call of the Crucified. 



the earthly path of life, in the solemn 
season of Lent. Paradoxical as it seems, 
in an acceptance or refusal of that Cross, 
lies our spiritual life or death. If we 
refuse it, it will crush us with its weight; 
if we accept it, it will raise us toward 
Heaven. 

Let us this holy season draw near to 
the Cross with love and adoration. Let 
us journey to Calvary, and gaze on that 
Divine Form. Let us cast all of our cares 
and trials, sorrows and sins at the foot of 
the Cross, and look to Him the Burthen- 
Bearer ! Let us embrace that Cross as did 
the holy women, and carry it in our hearts 
throughout our life's journey ! Let it be 
our solace for earthly care and grief, and 
our help against sin and temptation. 
Let it be the reminder of the Saviour's 
Love and Sacrifice and the incentive to 

"5 



A Layman's Lent. 



our own love and sacrifice. Let it be the 
sacred symbol by which we bring others 
to the Redeemer's feet, and the means 
of keeping alive our own faith and devo- 
tion. Let it be our guide in life, in the 
sunshine of our youth, in the noonday 
of our prime, in the even of our age. 
Let it be our one hope in " the dry land 
where no water is" that land of the Valley 
of the Shadow of Death. Let it sustain 
us until in the last day again we hear the 
Voice of the Crucified, "Come unto Me, all 
ye that labour and are heavy laden and I 
will give you rest" " My peace I give unto 
you" "And ye shall find rest unto your 
souls" 

Rest and peace ! On earth who would 
not have rest and peace ? Not the rest 
and peace that comes in sloth and idleness, 
(which is no real rest), but the inner joy 

126 



The Call of the Crucified. 



that comes from a life given up to the 
Master's work ! 

Rest and peace for Christian workers, 
not " Christian " idlers ! For Christian be- 
lievers, not " Christian " scorners ! 

Rest and peace! In Heaven who would 
not have rest and peace ? There in the 
company of the saints and angels to stand 
in the presence of God, on Whose right 
hand is the Crucified Christ, with the marks 
of the nails in His hands and His feet and 
the piercing of the spear in His side, Him 
the Saviour and Redeemer of mankind, 
Who, for the sacrifice on the Cross, asks 
but for our hearts with all their adoring 
love and devotion. 

Rest and peace, we find it there for ever, 
and ever and ever, but it is the rest for 
the weary, for those who fought, strug- 
gled and worked in their earthly life, for 

127 



A Layman's Lent. 



those who offered up themselves as a 
loving sacrifice to Him, Who died for 
them, for those who sought out every 
chance and opportunity for prayer and 
devotion, communion and sacrifice. 

Rest and peace for those who have 
copied the Master ; ay, copied the Master 
even in keeping the Lenten Fast ordered 
by His Divine Institution the Holy Catholic 
Church, a fast that has made weak men 
strong, doubting men believers. 

Hark ! The Divine Voice of Jesus is 
calling : " Is it nothing to you, all ye that 
pass byf He hungers for our love, He 
thirsts for our devotion ! What love to 
die on the Cross for us ! The Crucified 
calls us : " Come unto me all ye that 
labour and are heavy laden and I will give 
you rest." Longingly the Divine Face 
of the Crucified looks down from the 

128 



The Call of the Crucified. 



Cross ! Beseechingly the Pierced Hands 
of the Crucified beckon ! Lovingly the 
Beautiful Voice of the Crucified pleads ! 
My brothers, what answer will you make ? 



129 



APPENDIX 

CONTAINING A 

SHORT FORM OF PRAYERS FOR DAILY MORNING 
AND EVENING USE, 

APPROVED BY THE 

Bishop of Milwaukee. 

TOGETHER WITH 

A Few Practical Suggestions to be Followed in Preparation 
for Receiving the Holy Communion. 



(The forms herein set forth are intended not only to be used during 
Lent, but also during the whole year. They should especially commend 
themselves for Family Worship. The Prayers for the most part are but 
shortened forms of those to be found in the Book of Common Prayer. It is 
hoped they will but lead to a more regular use of that book. On Wednes- 
days and Fridays the Litany should also be said as set forth in the Book 
of Common Prayer.) 



I 



APPENDIX. 

SHORT PRAYERS FOR MORNING USE. 

N the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy- 
Ghost. Amen. 



OUR Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. 
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is 
in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us 
our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And 
lead us not into temptation ; But deliver us from evil : For 
Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and 
ever. Amen. 

ALMIGHTY God, we most heartily thank Thee for our crea- 
tion, preservation and all the blessings of this life, for Thy 
loving care and watchful providence over us all our days and for 
having delivered us from all the dangers and perils of the past 
night, but above all things for Thine inestimable love in the 
redemption of the world by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 
for the means of grace and for the hope of glory. And we be- 
seech Thee to accept this our morning sacrifice of praise and 
thanksgiving, continuing these Thy blessings to us and to all 
men, and taking us and all who are dear to us under Thy 
fatherly care and protection. More especially we pray Thee to 
give us the grace of Thy Holy Spirit, that we, being unfeignedly 
thankful, may show forth our praise, not only with our lips but in 
our lives, by giving up ourselves to Thy service and walking 
before Thee in holiness and righteousness all our days : throug;h 

132 



Short Morning Prayers, 



Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom with Thee and the Holy Ghost 
be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen. 

DIRECT us, O Lord, in all our doings with Thy most gracious 
favour and further us with Thy continual help, that in all 
our works begun, continued and ended in Thee we may glorify 
Thy holy Name and finally by Thy mercy obtain everlasting life 
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

OMOST Merciful Father, look with pity, we beseech Thee, 
upon all those in sorrow, trouble, sickness, or distress, re- 
lieving them according to their several necessities or else giving 
them patience to bear their troubles ; remember in mercy all 
sinners and criminals and all who have erred and strayed from 
Thy ways, giving them repentance and better minds; have 
compassion upon all men, and pour into their hearts such love 
towards Thee that they may turn from their wickedness and 
follow Thee, the only God, for the sake of our Lord and Re- 
deemer, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

OLORD, Who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty 
nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence that our 
flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey Thy godly 
motions in righteousness and true holiness, to Thy honour and 
glory, Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy 
Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. 

THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God 
and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all 
evermore. Amen. 

1 33 



Appendix. 



SHORT PRAYERS FOR EVENING USE. 



i 



N the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost. Amen. 



OUR Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. 
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is 
in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us 
our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And 
lead us not into temptation ; But deliver us from evil : For 
Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and 
ever. Amen. 

ALMIGHTY God, we most heartily thank Thee for Thy 
goodness and loving kindness to us and to all men, for 
Thy loving care and protection to us this day and for all the 
many blessings of the same, beseeching Thee that we may ever 
love and praise Thy Holy Name and follow Thee all the days 
of our life for the sake of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 
Amen. 

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father, we humbly pray 
Thee to have compassion upon our sins and infirmities 
and grant that we being sincerely penitent and confessing them 
unto Thee, by Thine infinite goodness and mercy may obtain 
forgiveness of the same. And we beseech Thee, grant us grace 
so to resist the deceits of the world, the flesh and the devil, that 
we may live to Thy honour and glory in this present and in the 

134 



Short Evening Prayers, 



world to come attain everlasting life, through the merits and 
mediation of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen. 

OLORD, Who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty 
nights; Give us grace to use such abstinence that our 
flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey Thy godly 
motions in righteousness and true holiness, to Thy honour and 
glory, Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy 
Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. 

WE beseech Thee, O Lord, pour Thy grace into our hearts : 
that as we have known the Incarnation of our Lord 
Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by His Cross and 
Passion we may be brought to the glory of His resurrection, 
through the same Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

LIGHTEN our darkness, we beseech Thee, O Lord; and 
by Thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers 
of this night ; for the love of Thy only Son our Saviour, Jesus 
Christ. Amen. 

O SAVIOUR of the world, Who by Thy Cross and Precious 
Blood hath redeemed us, save us and help us, we humbly 
beseech Thee, O Lord. Amen. 

THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God 
and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all ever- 
more. Amen. 

135 



Appendix. 



PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION. 

IT is our bounden duty, ere we presume to receive the Blessed 
Sacrament, that we should make a careful and thorough 
examination of our conscience and follow this with a full and 
complete Confession to Almighty God. This must not merely be 
a Confession of Sin in the abstract but must be a Confession of 
Specific Sins, which we may have committed in thought and 
word and deed, and it must include Sins of Omission as well as 
Sins of Commission. 

This Examination and Confession to be real must be coupled 
with sincere Repentance and Contrition, and must be supple- 
mented by self-imposed Penance (and Restitution and Repara- 
tion if the sin calls for it). Examination and Confession must 
also embody the sincere resolve to lead a better life, and must be 
made in love and charity with all men. 

There are many printed forms containing detailed questions 
for self-examination. Some persons need these and should use 
them. Others having a greater insight into spiritual things and 
a more devotional nature, may find their own questions more 
to the point (assuming of course that the examination be made 
in a most humble and conscientious manner) . 

A very good and helpful method of self-examination is : 

I. By the Rule of the Ten Commandments, in all their 
various application. 

II. By the Seven Deadly Sins of Anger, Covetousness, 
Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, and Sloth, which in reality em- 
body many sins sometimes looked upon as venial. 

136 



Preparation for Communion. 

III. By Faith, Repentance, and Charity, or our duty toward 
God and our duty toward our neighbor. 

Only after such Examination and Confession to God do we 
worthily partake of the Blessed Sacrament, which is the "re- 
freshing and strengthening of our souls" by the Body and 
Blood of Jesus, Supernatural ly, Spiritually, and Really Present 
under the forms of bread and wine which remain after Conse- 
cration. Surely such a precious gift should excite our deepest 
longing, and should be approached with holy fear and repent- 
ance, deep adoration and thanksgiving. 

Sins are generally divided into two classes, Mortal (or 
Deadly) sins and Venial sins. 

This classification, however, is but an arbitrary one, for what 
we commonly regard as a trivial, venial sin may in reality be to 
us a mortal one, inasmuch as if constantly indulged in, it may 
cut us off or separate us from God> when little by little the soul 
will sink into such a condition, that no longer will it be able 
to see or do aright or realize the depth of its fall. 

Separation from God, then, is the best definition for Deadly 
Sin, for as our natural members die physically if cut off, so we 
who are members of Christ die spiritually if cut off or separated 
from Him, Who is God. 

Thus, then, it behooves us to meditate oft and deeply upon 
the awfulness of sin and the power of sin, in order that we 
may the more strongly fight against it, and may the more 
humbly seek our dear Redeemer Who gives us in the Blessed 
Sacrament of His Body and Blood special grace and strength to 
fight and conquer. 

137 



Appendix. 



(And if any one after such devout and thorough self-examina- 
tion "cannot quiet his own conscience but requireth further 
comfort or counsel,'' let him follow the instruction of the Ex- 
hortation in the Prayer Book after the Holy Communion Office, 
and seek some Priest of God, to him to " open his grief; that 
he may receive such Godly counsel and advice as may tend to 
the quieting of his conscience and the removal of all scruple 
and doubtfulness.") 



A PRAYER TO BE USED BEFORE SELF-EXAMINA- 
TION. 

OMOST merciful Father, Who hast compassion upon all men, 
help us now so to examine ourselves and to confess our sins 
unto Thee that we may obtain Thy pardon and forgiveness. Re- 
ceive us we pray Thee in mercy. Help us feel true sorrow for 
our faults. Grant us grace to have a firm trust in Thee. Cleanse 
us from all our sins in the Precious Blood of Jesus. Enlighten 
our hearts with the grace of Thy Holy Spirit, so that truly re- 
penting of our sins, earnestly resolved to lead a new life and in 
love and charity with all men, we may worthily receive the 
Blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Jesus 
Christ with all the benefits and blessings of the same, for the 
sake of Thy dear Son, our Lord and Redeemer. Amen. 



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